By Andrew Coen
Marty Rosen, the personal attorney for Wiesenthal and the founding trustee of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, addressed 100 local Holocaust survivors and 30 eighth-grade Brandeis School students last Thursday morning at the Jewish Community Center (JCC) of the Greater Five Towns in Cedarhurst.
Rosen, a Hewlett Harbor resident, said that if it weren't for justice-seekers like Wiesenthal, many Nazis would be living freely and would never have been brought to trial. This man proves that one person in this great cruel world can make a big difference if he really wants to, he said.
Rosen, who was mayor of Lawrence from 1976 to 1980, pointed out that although Wiesenthal was successful in catching 1,100 Nazis, many were able to get away. Eleven hundred is a lot, but it's really a little when you think of the thousands and thousands who got away and some live to this day but it's better than nothing, he said.
Rosen first got involved in Wiesenthal's quest to catch Nazis when the Holocaust survivor had plans to close his center in Vienna, Austria, in 1965 and one of Rosen's close friends urged him not to. His friend gave Wiesenthal the money he needed to keep the center afloat.
With the assistance of Rosen, the United States Simon Wiesenthal Center opened in 1977. The center is headquartered in Los Angeles and maintains offices in New York, Toronto, Miami, Jerusalem, Paris and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Rosen said Wiesenthal's work isn't about revenge, but rather about justice. Justice means the arrest, the trial, the publicity, the incarceration or the hanging, whatever the case may be, and letting the children know and the people in the world know, Rosen said of Wiesenthal's attitude toward searching for Nazis. There are many Nazi hunters that you may read about, but there was only one Nazi hunter, because had he not kept [the cause] alive all this time, it almost would have been history, and none of the trials, none of the operations and none of the knowledge that we now have would mean anything except in memory in your minds.
Rosen spoke about how the Jews in the U.S. have a lot more political power than they had during the Holocaust, when there were only two Jews in the U.S. House of Representatives and none in the Senate. Today there are 34 Jews in the House and 11 Jewish senators. We can all rest a little easier today, said Rosen of the increased amount of Jewish representation in Washington.
The speech was very moving to the many local Holocaust survivors who were on hand. I am a survivor myself, but I think it was very informative for people who are not survivors, said Grace Schwarzberg of Lawrence. It's the best speech I have heard on the subject. He really put it all together.
I liked hearing about what Simon Wiesenthal did because he is a wonderful person, said Laura Greenbaum of Lawrence.
I really enjoyed listening to him, added Celia Bernstein of Cedarhurst. He has done a lot for survivors.
Rosen's speech was made in observance of the 65th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, which marked the beginning of the Holocaust. The event was also part of the JCC of the Greater Five Towns' efforts to educate today's young people about tolerance, acceptance and history through interaction with seniors. About 300 local Holocaust survivors attend weekly gatherings at the community center.
